The Nats seem to be in a peculiar position with thier top FIVE draft picks remaining unsigned going into the final weekend (deadline is Monday at midnight). It is unusual to see that happen, but scrolling through the other teams I saw several that were one signed pick away from having their Top 4 unsigned right now so I can imagine it has happened before. But still it seems unusual on the surface.
Dig a little deeper though and it starts to make some sense. Most negotiations for picks in the first round and supplemental go down to the wire. Only 24 of 60 have signed as of now. What does that fact have to do with the Nats? Their first 5 picks are loaded. They have two first rounders (Rendon and Meyer), a supplemental(Goodwin), and a 3rd rounder most see as first round talent (Purke). Looking at it that way maybe you'd expect one to be signed by now but really it's no big surprise that they remain unsigned. I'm only wondering what's going on with Kylin Turnbull. Is he waiting to see what Purke gets to use that as a starting point? Forget about it Kylin! You're not these other guys.
The Nats should come to an agreement with all these guys. Jim Bowden in long gone. I'm sure that the first 3 are just haggling out what size is the dump truck the Nats will drive to their house. Purke is the question mark. He wants first round money. If the Nats drafted him in the 3rd round to get a bargain, well that's not going to fly and they should have known that going in. They will have wasted a draft pick. Not the worst thing in the world, but never a good idea. If the Nats drafted him to get another 1st round talent, well then they should suck it up and pay him like everyone else.
It'll be a long weekend for the Nats front office trying to hammer out 5 deals. Someone send out for takeout.
I'm not feeling too confident about Purke. My guess is that he is still demanding 6M. His dad is running the negotiations and I don't see him bowing to the realities. If Purke was healthy 6M would be no question, but we have no proof that he is or that he will be able to throw like he used to. I can't see the Nats paying more than 3.5M and I think the kid walks and tries to go #1 overall. I get the impression that they are very stubborn and a hard slotting system will not deter them...
ReplyDeleteIt would be awesome to sign them all... but...
The Lerners have shown recently they've been willing to fork over the cash, and the good returns they've seen so far from AJ Cole and Robbie Ray have to encourage them. I think they sign them all.
ReplyDeleteI believe Purke passed a physical and the Nats said they were satisfied with his shoulder/arm recovery. Granted that's the Nats medical staff we're talking about, but hey, if they're right then you can have next year's number one draft pick under contract.
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